LogTide vs AWS CloudWatch Logs

AWS CloudWatch Logs is the default log management service for AWS workloads. LogTide is a self-hosted, open-source log management platform with built-in SIEM. Here’s an honest comparison.

Cost Comparison

AWS CloudWatch pricing scales linearly with volume — costs can grow faster than your traffic.

CloudWatch Logs Pricing

Component	Cost
Log ingestion	$0.50/GB
Log storage	$0.03/GB/month
Log Insights queries	$0.005/GB scanned
CloudWatch Logs subscription filter	$0.00 (but Lambda costs)
Cross-account log delivery	$0.10/GB
Live Tail	$0.01/minute

Real-world example: A mid-size SaaS running on AWS with 50 GB/day log ingestion:

• Ingestion: 50 GB × $0.50 × 30 = $750/month
• Storage (30-day retention): 1,500 GB × $0.03 = $45/month
• Log Insights (10 queries/day): ~$75/month
• Total: ~$870/month ($10,440/year)

LogTide Pricing

Component	Cost
Software license	Free (AGPLv3)
EC2 instance (c6i.2xlarge)	~$250/month
EBS storage (1 TB gp3)	~$80/month
SIEM features	Included
Users	Unlimited

Same 50 GB/day scenario on AWS infrastructure:

• EC2 + storage: ~$330/month
• Total: ~$330/month ($3,960/year)

Savings: ~$6,480/year (62%)

At higher volumes (200+ GB/day), savings exceed 80%.

Feature Comparison

Feature	CloudWatch Logs	LogTide
Log ingestion API	Yes	Yes (HTTP + SDKs)
Full-text search	Log Insights (query-based)	Yes (real-time)
Real-time streaming	Live Tail ($0.01/min)	SSE (included)
Alert rules	CloudWatch Alarms	Built-in
Dashboards	CloudWatch Dashboards	SIEM dashboard
Structured queries	Log Insights (SQL-like)	SQL + Sigma rules
Sigma detection rules	No	Built-in
MITRE ATT&CK mapping	No	Included
Cross-account logs	Yes ($0.10/GB)	Multi-org (included)
Retention control	1 day to indefinite	Configurable
S3 export	Yes (async)	Roadmap
Self-hosted	No (AWS only)	Yes
Open source	No	AGPLv3

Where CloudWatch Wins

Native AWS integration. CloudWatch is deeply integrated with every AWS service. EC2, Lambda, ECS, RDS, and API Gateway all ship logs to CloudWatch automatically with zero configuration.

Serverless logging. For Lambda functions, CloudWatch is the only option that captures logs without additional infrastructure. There’s no log agent to install.

Auto-scaling. CloudWatch scales automatically with your workload. No capacity planning, no disks to resize, no instances to upgrade.

Log Insights. CloudWatch Log Insights provides a powerful query language with automatic field discovery. Complex aggregations work across terabytes of logs.

Where LogTide Wins

Cost at scale. CloudWatch’s $0.50/GB ingestion fee adds up fast. LogTide’s self-hosted model means you pay only for infrastructure, which is dramatically cheaper for 50+ GB/day.

Full-text search. CloudWatch requires Log Insights queries to search logs. LogTide provides real-time full-text search without per-query costs.

Built-in SIEM. LogTide includes Sigma detection rules, MITRE ATT&CK mapping, and incident management. CloudWatch has no native SIEM — you’d need Amazon Security Lake ($$$) or a third-party tool.

Data sovereignty. CloudWatch stores data in AWS. With LogTide, your logs stay in your infrastructure. Run on any cloud or on-premises for full GDPR compliance.

No query costs. Every Log Insights query costs $0.005/GB scanned. With frequent debugging, this adds up. LogTide queries are unlimited.

No vendor lock-in. CloudWatch logs are in a proprietary format. LogTide stores logs in TimescaleDB or ClickHouse — standard SQL, easy to export, easy to migrate.

When to Choose CloudWatch

• You’re running entirely on AWS and want zero-config log collection
• You use Lambda heavily and need serverless log capture
• Log volume is under 10 GB/day (cost difference is small)
• Your team doesn’t want to manage additional infrastructure
• You need native integration with AWS services (ECS, RDS, API Gateway)

When to Choose LogTide

• Log volume exceeds 50 GB/day (significant cost savings)
• You need SIEM capabilities (Sigma rules, incident management)
• Data sovereignty or GDPR compliance requires self-hosting
• You want unlimited search without per-query costs
• You run multi-cloud or hybrid infrastructure
• You prefer open-source with no vendor lock-in

Migration Path

Step 1: Ship Logs to Both

Run LogTide in parallel with CloudWatch during evaluation:

import { LogTideClient } from '@logtide/node';

const logtide = new LogTideClient({
  dsn: process.env.LOGTIDE_DSN!,
  service: 'my-service',
});

// Your existing CloudWatch logging continues
// LogTide receives the same events via SDK
logtide.info('Request processed', { path: '/api/users', status: 200 });

Step 2: Forward CloudWatch to LogTide

Use a Lambda function to forward existing CloudWatch logs:

// Lambda function subscribed to CloudWatch log groups
export const handler = async (event: CloudWatchLogsEvent) => {
  const payload = Buffer.from(event.awslogs.data, 'base64');
  const parsed = JSON.parse(zlib.gunzipSync(payload).toString());

  const events = parsed.logEvents.map((e: any) => ({
    level: 'info',
    message: e.message,
    service: parsed.logGroup,
    metadata: {
      logStream: parsed.logStream,
      cloudwatch_id: e.id,
    },
  }));

  await fetch(`${process.env.LOGTIDE_API_URL}/api/v1/ingest/batch`, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      'X-API-Key': process.env.LOGTIDE_API_KEY!,
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({ events }),
  });
};

Step 3: Validate and Cut Over

Compare LogTide and CloudWatch results for 1-2 weeks. Once validated, switch your applications to ship directly to LogTide and reduce CloudWatch retention.

Concept Mapping

CloudWatch	LogTide	Notes
Log Group	Project	Logical grouping
Log Stream	Service	Per-source streams
Log Insights	Search + SIEM	Real-time search included
CloudWatch Alarm	Alert Rule	Similar functionality
Subscription Filter	N/A	Ship directly to LogTide
Metric Filter	Detection Rule	Pattern matching
Live Tail	SSE Streaming	Real-time, no per-minute cost

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Ready to reduce your AWS logging bill?

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• Cost Optimization Guide - Detailed savings analysis